Brighton player ratings gallery: Albion attacker scores Anonymous 5/10 but two land 8/10 v Arsenal

Roberto De Zerbi’s Albion were without the midfield talents of World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister and also Moises Caicedo, who was suspended following his fifth booking of the season at Southampton.

Any team in the Premier League would miss those two and it showed against Arsenal. The Gunners led with just over a minute played after the unmarked Bukayo Saka slotted home from close range following Gabriel Martinelli’s blocked effort.

Arsenal doubled their lead shortly before half-time when Martin Odegaard found the net following a partially-cleared corner from the right.

Arsenal were in complete control immediately after the restart as Nketiah stretched their lead to 3-0.

Seagulls goalkeeper Sanchez failed to keep hold of Martinelli’s effort from the left and Nketiah pounced to poke home the loose ball.

Brighton pulled a goal back with 65 minutes on the clock through Kaoru Mitoma’s smart finish but

Arsenal restored their three-goal advantage with around 20 minutes to play. Odegaard released Martinelli with a stunning first-time pass and the Brazilian raced almost half the length of the pitch, outpacing Lamptey, before finishing underneath Sanchez.

Brighton reduced the deficit to 4-2 through a first Premier League goal for substitute Evan Ferguson – a great moment for the 18-year-old.

Mitoma thought he set up a grandstand finish by claiming his second to make it 4-3 with a minute to go but the goal was subsequently disallowed for an offside in the build-up.

Here’s how the Albion players rated at the Amex Stadium...